Police Find Human Body Parts Wrapped In Plastic Bags [Video]
Police found human body parts wrapped in plastic bags in downtown New Haven, Connecticut. According to police, late Wednesday morning, two human legs were found along a fence in thick foliage on Court Street, near the State Street Railroad Station.
Police said that a few hours after the first discovery, they found three severed human limbs near the train tracks. At that point, police brought in cadaver dogs to assist in their search efforts.
New Haven Police Officer David Hartman told WFSB a “rotting smell” caused police to make another discovery around 7 p.m.
Police found a human arm in a plastic bag on a ledge below the Chapel Street Bridge, near Union Avenue. On Thursday, police said there were actually two arms found in that plastic bag.
Officer Hartman commented about the chilling discovery of the human body parts.
“Detectives from our forensic unit opened the bag and found what appears to be a human arm, at least one human arm.”
Michael Fumiatti, a worker in downtown New Haven, explains his reaction to the smell of decomposing human body parts.
“A couple of days ago, probably Monday, I thought I smelled something a little odd, like a dead animal. I never gave it a second thought.”
Police Officer Hartman said the body parts are so decomposed they cannot determine the race and gender of the person. Officials added the legs were badly decomposed, making it even more difficult to identify them.
Investigators said they believe it’s not likely the limbs were dismembered at the location they were found. They suspect the body parts were dumped there.
Officer Hartman adds his reaction to New Haven police discovering the human body parts.
“We have bizarre cases from time to time, but I can’t remember any case where we’ve found body parts, certainly not in recent memory. It would be incredibly coincidental if they were separate cases, and also I’d say incredibly disturbing if they were separate cases.”
People who work and live in downtown New Haven said the unnerving discovery makes their skin crawl.
New Haven resident Darlene Galberth shared her concern about the frightening find.
“I think it’s totally insane. It’s crazy. Legs? This city is going down under.”
Chief Medical Examiner’s office officials said they are working to identify the body parts. Police will continue going over missing persons reports. However, they add that they are reaching out to other departments for support.
Dr. Henry C. Lee, a world-renowned forensic scientist, best known for his work on the O.J. Simpson case, said cases like this involve teamwork.
“I’ve been in this forensic field and police field for more than 56 years, investigate 300 to 400 dismembering cases,” Dr. Lee said.
Dr. Lee said forensic scientists are working on determining the age, race, and gender, along with examining the plastic bag where the arms were. The forensic team will closely examine the socks that were still on the legs they found in order to get a fiber of hair or DNA to help identify the victim or suspect.
Dr. Lee said that once they find three pieces of the same profile, they can put it in a national DNA bank, then try to search missing persons files and attempt to search criminal record files, as well.
Police said an unidentified man approached a police officer about the discovery and brought the officer to the area where the human body parts were found.
[Featured image via WFSB]
